Screw-threaded closure device



Sept. 24, 1946. 5. H. SIMITH 2,408,233

S CREW- THREADED CLOSURE DEVICE Filed Dec. 21, 1943 Patented Sept. 24, 1946 I 2,403,233 1 SCREW-THREADED CLOSURE DEVICE Sydney Hartley-Smith, Manchester, England, as-

si'gnorto Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, a corporation of Great Britain Application December 21, 1943, Serial No- 515,104- In Great Britain November 13,1942

This invention relates to filler caps or closure devices for fuel tanks and other containers and more particularly to meansadapted' to facilitate rotation of the said-devices for-attachment to'or detachment from a container" or the like, said 4: Claims. (01. 220-39) der 6, the said shoulder, providing an abutment for an outwardly extending flange 1 on the said peg. The said flange is urged against the said shoulder by means of a spring 8. The'neck pormeans consisting" of two' or more pegsorlike projections on the outer surface or head of the closuremem'ber forenga'gem-ent with a tommybar or other turning 1ever.. The said closure devices maybe screw-threaded to engage a cor;-

responding screwthread in the container orifice or may beadaptedto be attached 'to and detached frorn the container by. any other means embodying'rotational or semi-rotational movement.

According to the'present inventionin a closure device of thekind' referred tothe pegs are adapted to be depressed orlowered and retained within recesses formed in the body of theclosure' merhher in such manner that when not in use" for rotational movement of'the closure, the said pegs are disposed substantially flush. with the surface of" the closure. y

In the bestembodimentiofthe invention, two diametrically opposed spring-loaded pegs are slidably mounted for" limited longitudinal movement' in bores provided in. the head of a closure and are adapted to. be depressed into the. said bores andv retained therein when required by a bayonet type joint. The aforesaid embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated'sinthe' accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 isaperspective view of a closure device constructed. in accordancewith the'present invention.

Figure 2 is a; perspective view'of aportion' of the closure illustratedin" Figure 1 showing. one peg depressed and retainedwithin the closure.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line A- -A of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is. a part-sectional view on the line BB of Figure 2. a a r Referringtdthe. drawing a closure member I; in the form' of a plug having an externally screwthreaded portion la and a head flange lb which limits the inward travel of the plug, is provided with two diametrically opposed spring-loaded pegs 2, 2a adapted to be engaged simultaneously by a levering tool such as tommy-bar 3 (shown in chain-dotted lines in Fig. 1) to facilitate rotation of the said closure, said tool having in this instance a flattened or screw-driver end 3a for a purpose hereinafter pointed out. Each of the said pegs is slidably mounted in a cylindrical recess or bore comprising a neck portion 4 leading into an enlarged portion 5 thus forming a shoultion 4 of the said bore is provided with diametrically opposed longitudinal slots 9 which extend the fulldepth of the said neck portion.

Lateral retaining projections f0, such-asba'yonet pins or arms, protrude outwardly from'the peg 2 and engagein the said longitudinal slots, the said pins being adapted to ride clear of the said'slots when the peg is fully depressed, thuspermitting rotation thereof in thebayonet-joint connectionthus constituted and the engagement of the said pins with the shoulder 6 by which means; the said peg is retained within the closure, as shown in Figs. 2 andl- The outer end of the peg is suitably formed, in this instance through provision of kerf 2b, to facilitateits being rotated or turned by a suitable tool when so depressed. The coiled spring 8 is located and compressed between-the peg and thedisk H or the like. secured irrthe base of the closure. To this end, the peg may be shaped-like a thimble, asshown, to provide a recess 20 in its base adapted and arranged to cooperate with stud. Ha, which projects. from disk II, in suitably confining spring 8.

In order to bring the pegs 2, 211, into position for. levering engagement by a tommy-bar' for screwing down or'unscrewing the closure device, each peg is rotated or turned. as by suitablyengaging thescrew-driver end 3a of the" tommybar of the kerf 2b,.until'. the bayonetpins' or arms t0 register withthe slots 9, whereupon the spring 8 instantly urges the. peg longitudinally through the neck portion. 4, ofthe recess or bore into the position shown Figs. 1 and 3, this movement being arrested when the .peg has. attained its proper elevated. era-protruding position by the engagement of flange. 1 with shoulder 6, which elements. together constitute stop means;

.It'will. be. seen. from Fig. 3 of the drawing that the arms' Hiof each peg are so spaced from the flange l, and the shoulder B is at such a distance belowthe outer face of the closure device, that said arms cannot pass upward out of their respective slots but still remain in contact with the walls thereof when the peg projects to its fully elevated or protruding position above said outer face for engagement by a levering bar or tool. It will be further noted that the slots 9, of the pair of spaced recesses housing the cooperating pair of pegs extend in the same direction andv rangement, said arms l assist in distributing the stresses on the pegs, due to the levering action of the tommy-bar, to the walls of the slots, thereby reducing the danger of bending the protruding portions of the pegs or of unduly compressing the edges of the respective recesses or bores. The most advantageous arrangement is one wherein, as in the specific construction shown, the longitudinal axes of thepegs lie in a diametral plane of the closure device, to which plane all the slot walls are parallel and closely adjacent.

The invention has particular application to filler caps of fuel tanks for aircraft which are required to be flush fitting with the exposed surface of the aircraft wing or fuselage where under flight conditions a smooth flush surface is required and where for filling purposes the filler cap is required to be unscrewed in an easy and rapid manner.

In such circumstances the closure device may conveniently embody a quick-pitch or multi-start screw-thread.

I claim:

1. A closure device which comprises a rotatable closure body provided with a pair of spaced recesses opening outward, each shouldered to provide a neck portion and an enlarged inner portion with a closed base, a peg slidably mounted in each recess for movement between elevated and depressed positions and rotatable in depressed position, said peg being provided with lateral projections working in longitudinal slots in the wall of said neck portion and opening into said enlarged portion, said slots extending in the direction of a straight line passing through both of said recesses, said projections being arranged to ride clear of said slots when the peg is fully depressed and, by then rotating the peg, to be moved under the shoulder of said recess for retaining engagement therewith, a spring compressed between said peg and the base of the recess, and means projecting laterally from said peg adapted and arranged, when said lateral pro jections are engaged in said slots, to stop outward movement of the peg by engagement with said shoulder, when the peg has been urged outwardly to project a substantial distance beyond said head.

2. A closure device, comprising a closure body having two bores, each closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, each bore comprising a cylindrical portion of enlarged diameter near its inner end and a cylindrical neck portion of smaller diameter at its outer end, to provide an internal shoulder, the neck portion having two slots opening into the enlarged portion of the bore at the shoulder, and all the slots of the two bores extending in the direction of a straight line passing through the diameters of both of said bores, a pair of pegs longitudinally movable in the respective bores between elevated and depressed positions and each adapted to be rotated about its longitudinal axis in depressed position, each peg being provided with a stop member arranged to engage the shoulder of its bore and thereby limit the outward movement of the peg, and with a pair of diametrically opposite arms which extend laterally from the peg and are adapted and arranged to slide in the slots aforesaid and to pass out of said slots into the enlarged portion of the bore for retaining engagement with the shoulder when the peg, in its depressed position, is rotated about its longitudinal axis; the arms and the stop member being so located and spaced apart in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the peg that, when the stopdevice is in contact with the shoulder the upper end of the peg is above the outer face of the closure body sufficiently to be engaged by a tommy-bar and the arms are still within the slots; and resilient means for each peg tending to bring its stop-device in contact with the shoulder of its bore. r

3. A closure device, comprising a rotatable body portion having therein two bores, each closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, each bore comprising a cylindrical porti0n.of enlarged diameter near its inner end and a cylindrical neck portion of smaller diameter at its outer end, to provide an internal shoulder, the neck portion having two slots opening into the enlarged portion of thebor and all the slots of the two recesses extending in the direction of a straight line passing through the diameters of both of the bores, a pair of pegs longitudinally movable in the respective bores between elevated and depressed positions, each having provision by which it may b rotated about its longitudinal axis when in depressed position, each peg being thimble-shaped to provide a recess at its lower end, and having a flange arranged to engage the shoulder of its here to limit the outward movement of the peg, and a pair of diametrically opposite arms which extend laterally from the peg and are adapted and arranged to slide in the respective slots of its bor and to pass out of said D slots into the enlarged portion of the bore for retaining engagement with the shoulder when the peg, in its inward position, is rotated on its longitudinal axis; the arms and the flange being so located and spaced apart in the-direction of the longitudinal axis of the peg that, when the flange of the peg is in contact with the shoulder, the upper end of the peg is above the outer face of the body portion sufficiently for engagement by a tommy-bar, while the arms are still within the slots; a stud projecting outward from the bottom of each bore, and a coiled compression spring confined by said stud and the wall of the recess in the peg.

4. A closure device as claimed in claim 1 where in the outer end of each peg is formed to facilitate rotation thereof by'an engaging tool when in depressed position,

SYDNEY H. SMITH. 

